PDA

View Full Version : Trip Report TR: Lime Creek Cave Area Pt.2



forum8fox
06-01-2009, 05:32 PM
Onto the next cave...
The powerline cave, I think this is hands down the coolest I've yet been into.

*****excuse some of the blury images, I was shooting with out the flash to achieve some different lighting effects and I had no tripod for the extended exposure. I still think most of them look great so I'm still posting them, let me know what you think.

The cave is pretty easy to find as you guessed it, it's on a powerline. The entrance is about a 40'pit:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves058.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves061.jpg
At the bottom there seems to be 2 possibilities, #1 squeeze into a crack or #2 keep rapping through snow and ice 20 feet into a different hole.
I told nathan to check out the squeeze while I feed more rope through the anchor for option #2.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves062.jpg
He finds out that it keeps going so down I come bringing the other rope just incase but leaving it at the bottom of the pit for now as we don't want to drag more then needed through squeezes or crawl ways. On the inside I'm pleasently suprised to find that this cave is well decorated. It also has a fun inviting slot canyon type shape to it with virtually no splits to confuse you and nice hallways which are mostly walked and crouched through.
The first thing we saw was some cool dams that had filled in with some clearish mineral like a clear coat:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves067.jpg

In this shot you can make out a red cave centipede in the groove at the last knob on the ridge rising from the lower left of the photo:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves068.jpg

There were also some nice decoration on the wall near there, some draperies I believe:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves070.jpg

A cool spike through a larger crawl:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves073.jpg

More cool decorations:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves077.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves078.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves080.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves081.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves083.jpg

At some point along the way we did a short slot / chimney esque down climb. We came up to the next drop which was 10-20' and pretty damn sheer and slick. We found there was already webbing with knots tied to hold onto for a hand line and there was foot holds to use. Down we go:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves087.jpg

After some more passage ways and some more features we encounter the next problem...
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves088.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves091.jpg
There is another drop this time much larger and no way to down climb it. We have to go back for the rope... I'm tired and feeling reluctant, however Nathan is psyched and offers to go back for the other rope and harness. While I wait for his return I scout the drop and the anchor sittuation. I find 3+ features I can work with all of which I think will be substantial on their own. Nathan is back in a snap as we're only a couple hundred feet in at this point and I rig up off of 3 solid features. I drop in first after checking to make sure we have our ascent gear:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves093.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves094.jpg

Along the way down you are right next to an inspiring decorated wall. The rap is probly 40-60' with decoration for most likely 30-40' of it.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves106.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves108.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves109.jpg

There was so much cool stuff to look at and take pictures of at the bottom that it ate up the time:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves100.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves099.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves102.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves103.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves110.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves111.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves112.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves113.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves114.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves115.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves116.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves165.jpg
We made our way deeper from there down the slot canyon esque hallway as it squeezed and pinched into crouching passages and finally some tight crawl ways. Tons more cool decorations through all this stretch before the tight crawl.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves117.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves119.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves120.jpg[\IMG]
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves121.jpg

A deep damn, more like a resivoir:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves123.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves124.jpg

Crazy serrated curtains:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves125.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves126.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves127.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves128.jpg
The upper section of a monster curtain that we crawled under:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves130.jpg[/IMG]
The middle:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves129.jpg
The bottom:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves131.jpg

More cool decorations before the crawlway:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves132.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves133.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves135.jpg
More massive dams back to back, never seen this before:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves136.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves137.jpg

Another serrated curtain, it looked like a sharks jaw. Apon closer inspections the serrations looked cup shaped like it was dams on the edge of the curtain.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves138.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves162.jpg

This looked like a crystal forming above the tight but fairly short crawl section.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves141.jpg

After the crawling we came to a photogenic aesthetic paradise....
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves142.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves144.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves146.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves147.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves148.jpg
Wierd growths on this stalagtite, like barnicales. some nice soda straws aswell.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves149.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves150.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves151.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves152.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves153.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves154.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves155.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves158.jpg

After carefully crawling back through here there was another tight crawl. I sent Nathan ahead and he got about 15' in before the doubt set in. From this point it kept squeezing down but I coaxed him on "if there is a room on the other side don't you want to see it?"
"go as far as your comfortable but try to go as far as possible with out getting stuck". He reluctantly agrees and goes another 15 feet before he says "dude I don't think this is going to go with my helmate on, or period really". He said it's flagged back to there so it might go but not for us. Nathan squirmed back wards 15' till a small pocket where he turned around. This is the begining of that crawl with him comming back out, TIGHT!
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves156.jpg
It was around 6pm at this point so we decided to take off. Looking down after ascending the rope on the last drop:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w232/forum8fox/caving/limecreekcaves167.jpg

The end, Enjoy!

fouristhenewone
06-01-2009, 10:07 PM
amazing! great TR.

denaliguide
06-01-2009, 11:43 PM
wow! that's cool. :2thumbs:

Deathcricket
06-02-2009, 09:13 AM
great pics man! Cool story too. I chuckled A couple times reading it cause I'm always the guy who "will go check it out and let you know if it's cool".
:haha:

jumar
06-02-2009, 09:49 AM
:2thumbs: